Butler Basketball: Previewing Christian David's impact for 2019-20

Butler Basketball: Previewing Christian David’s impact for 2019-20

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 02: Eric Paschall #4 of the Villanova Wildcats goes up with the ball against Christian David #25 of the Butler Bulldogs in the second half at the Wells Fargo Center on March 2, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Villanova defeated Butler 75-54. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 14: The Butler Bulldogs mascot walks. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

On the offensive end…

Christian David is yet to emerge as a proven offensive threat at the college level. Although relatively highly-regarded out of high school due to his athleticism and above-average shooting ability, that has not materialized in Hinkle Fieldhouse. David has been unable to find consistent playing time as a result of his offensive issues. Despite his high ceiling as a scorer, he has been a net-negative on that end of the court so far due to a lack of confidence.

Ever since returning from injury, David has not quite looked comfortable on the offensive end of the floor. He is a bit hesitant with most of his moves and this greatly diminishes his effectiveness. David is seemingly still learning the ropes of the college game while also working to figure out his role in the offense. He ranked dead-last on the team last season with an 11.9% usage rate and he also exhibited the second-highest turnover rate (23.4%).

Now that he is entering his third year in the program, fans are hoping that David will regain his confidence and emerge as at least a legitimate scoring threat off the bench. Butler will likely rely on Baldwin, Jordan Tucker, Sean McDermott, and Khalif Battle to lead the way as scorers on the wing this season but David’s development could be crucial in fixing some of Butler’s offensive woes.

David has already proven that he can be a solid and versatile defender. If he regains his confidence with regards to decision-making, that could greatly change the way he impacts the floor. If David is allowed more freedom and relinquishes his hesitancies, then he could be a far better offensive weapon. He will need to make quicker reads with regards to moving the ball or electing to shoot/attack this season and that deals completely with his confidence.

Due to his low volume of offensive opportunities at the collegiate level, it is hard to predict how he will perform even with improved confidence. There is, though, definitely a high ceiling for the athletic junior.